Los Angeles: Actor Nicolas Cage says he was such an angry young man during his teenage years that his aggression could have even landed him in jail.

However, the 49-year-old, who has been part of some great aggressive flicks like `The Rock`, `Face/Off`, `Gone in 60 Seconds" and `Lord Of War`, thanks his profession for not letting him stray from the right path, reports thesun.co.uk

"Wish I had not been so angry at 18. I was a pretty wild guy with a lot of energy. I was into punk rock and didn’t know where I was fitting in," Cage said.

"I wanted that energy to go somewhere. I wanted it to be constructive rather than destructive - but I just did not have a clue in which direction to take it. Finding a career in which I could express those feelings was lucky. It could have gone either way. I could have ended up in jail," he added.

However, now the actor is a calmer person.

"I have learned to calm down. I have developed into a person who is generally happy," he said.

Cage will soon be seen in forthcoming movie `The Frozen Ground`, in which he plays a cop chasing a serial killer.